Cozy Christmas
by angie9281
Summary: Taking a break from the hustle and bustle and often bloody battles they face in their lives, Sookie and her two most important men gather for a peaceful, cozy Christmas. something neiher of the men are quite accustomed to but she hopes to enstill the spirit of the season in them both after all the trials and tribulations they have endured.


AUTHORS NOTE-wanted to break from the drama and angst to bring you a fun, shorter holiday story….there was another story that actually comes before this one but I wanted to get the Christmas one up first. Hopefully this wont make any confusion! This is still a part of my current season 8 however. I hope you enjoy it! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The past few months had been something of a dream and though certainly there had been troubles, drama and violence along the way, here they were, the family that she never thought she could, would have seated in the living room of the second house, the cabin style-though heavily fortified-one that he wanted to build on the property for them all to share. Not that the cute yellow farmhouse was ignored. Far from it. But she understood her Viking wanted something of a place of his own, knowing he wasn't really the farmhouse type. It was a unusual set up but most nights they were together if he wasn't off at the bar working. In both houses, she had insisted on decoration for the holiday, a holiday she knew he hadn't ever celebrated and though now, their son was a young man who appeared in his mid twenties and yet thanks to his mixed blood, had grown faster than the average human. And therefore was technically about 6 months old. But he had learned a great deal over this period of time from both his parents,. How to wield his special brand of abilities. The three of them had since come into their own with their vamp/faerie powers and were even more of a force to be reckoned with. Gunnar poked at the fire in the black marble fireplace in the new house and flopped back on the black leather couch in the living room. The house was done in shades of black, blue and white, Sookie having had her say in the décor of the more modern, sleek home that was situated a stones throw away from her original home and secluded, surrounded by weeping willows. If one happened to pull up her driveway, they would need to take a short walk and look carefully for the path that led to the second house. And the hidden lagoon he had promised her, as he had know the fun she-and himself-had had when they had gone to their private hideaway. And now, here the three were, enjoying a peaceful evening after celebrating a party earlier with their friends and loved ones. Now, it was time for them to reflect, to savor and have the peace and quiet that they all cherished from time to time.

"I still find it odd that people dress up a tree with lights and ornaments….." mused the Viking as he nodded at the tree she herself had picked out and decorated herself, her cheeriness having been infectious as she had managed to get even him to, albeit reluctantly, assist putting the tree together, decorating it in its resplendent glory. Her brother had been good enough to bring two trees over, one for each house. The one in the farm house had been decorated by her and her brother and her niece Harper. A tradition she had had with her brother for years. That tree was a little haphazard in its trimming, she and Jason having allowed Harper free reign with the tinsel and ornament placement. But as far as this tree went, it was taller and fuller and therefore there was more territory to cover. And as hard as he tried to play the part of being exasperated with decorating the tree, Sookie could feel that he had, in fact, found the activity somewhat amusing, entertaining. Not that he wouldn't prefer a good fight. He would choose that every time over taking care of a Christmas tree. The scent of cookies baking in the small kitchen led her from the cozy living room they were gathered in, the tree draped in faux silver tinsel and ornaments casting a glow all over the room. This was how she imagined her Christmas to be, with family. She had not, however, expected this was what her family was going to be. At the beginning of the year, she had been with Ryan. And she had given him the chance to redeem himself. And yet, after the beatings she had, after enough had been enough, things had snowballed, leading her to the path she knew she should have taken years ago. Grateful for the second chance at having what she had wanted, she smiled as she finished the batch of sugar cookies, grateful for everything, everyone she had in her life now. Though she mourned the child Ryan had caused her to lose, she was all the more grateful for the sun she now had. A son, she was amused to see had the bet of her and her Viking within him. Fierce as he could been there was a gentleness there as well.

"I really hate you can't enjoy these too." Sookie said as she brought a tray into the living room, setting it on the coffee table in front of her two favorite men. But as a consolation prize of sorts, she did have a little something special for her Viking. Giving him a crystal wine glass, the fancy Swarovski crystal held not wine but, according to her, a vintage bit of….well….her.

"Not that I am old or anything but I thought saying I was vintage made me sound more important." she said as she sat on the couch beside him and waited for him to take a sip, their son, meanwhile, was remaining silent, tasting of his own glass of wine and standing before their tree, looking at it admiringly, a hint of melancholy about him. Which both of them noticed right away and so she set down her glass of wine and approached him, putting a hand on his brawny shoulder. How very well built he was, like his dad and she still found herself struck by how similar they looked. And yet, she saw herself in him too. The coupe had agreed that Gunnar was the perfect combination of them both. "what is it?"

"I wonder how things would have been if I hadn't grown so fast, I mean, I am glad to be here of course but because I am what I am, well, you two wanted a family and yet, you had to miss out on so much because…well….." Gunnar gestured to his towering figure and gave a half smile. "Never got to throw me a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese."

"Thank god for that….." muttered Eric with a sardonic grin. "Honestly I don't understand the fascination with places like that. So loud, so messy…."

"You, worrying about messy?" she replied with a wry expression. "You of all people are one to talk about messy. I went through several rugs in the foyer of the farm house thanks to several people, you included." she paused. "As much as it would have been nice to have the whole child rearing experience, I would rather have had a rushed…whatever this was than not have had you at all….and I think we are nothing less than grateful for you being here with us tonight."

"Besides, I wouldn't have been able to teach you the finer points of weapons use for a long time had you been….average….I like to think we got through the…less enviable parts of childhood and now are at the good stuff."

"You're just relieved that you barely had to deal with the diapers…." Sookie said as she strode to where Eric was lounging, his long legs stretched out and onto the coffee table. And since this place was as good as hers as it was his, she kicked his legs off the table playfully and went to sit on his lap, to which Gunnar rolled his eyes and shook his head, the hint of a irritated smile enough o make his parents laugh.

"We can still enjoy those moments of embarrassing out kid though. " Sookie said, as she returned to where her son stood. "But seriously, we don't think we missed out on anything and after what I lost…..I never thought it would happen again, that I would have…..you know the lives your father and I led before we met and after we met…before you came along."

"Yeah….." replied Gunnar who then looked troubled. "I don't get how you were able to get through what you did, that you two made it and we are all here today….."

"It wasn't easy…..but I always had the belief things would workout. Even though there were some times I thought that hope was…..very small." replied his father, almost about to put his legs on the table again but a withering stare from Sookie made him tempt fate, almost doing it before instead standing up and approaching them before the stately tree. "In the end, things worked out, not in the most perfect of ways and certainly I wouldn't have wanted her to suffer as she had done to bring us together again…..but here we are."

She nodded her agreement. "I think I should have made smarter decisions and perhaps I wouldn't have suffered what I did but what happens now is we are standing here today, in front of this amazing tree….." she fingered the white lights that she had gotten and noted the pricey garland she had splurged on-Swarovski crystals- was casting faint rainbows around the room. The tree looked as if it were out of a fairy tale and though the other tree in the house was the more traditional colored one-what with the multicolored lighting and such, this tree, with its dressings of off whites, silver (fake, of course, for the sake of the patriarch of their family, though it had been discovered by chance, by a gift she had received from her Viking that Sookie, and their son had become as sensitive to rose gold as Eric was to silver. Information that was good to know, of course and she was quickly given a replacement gift, a diamond rose pendant. She knew she was terrible spoiled but she loved being able to return the gestures. That she had no doubt married into money was not stopping her from keeping her witnessing job and yet, she did had to admit, it was nice, from time to time, to splurge on things a year ago she never would have been able to afford.

"Hoe about gifts?" she said after they stood before the tree, all lost in reflection, recalling their life to this point and though Gunnar's life had been far shorter than their had been, certainly he had come to appreciate what he had, the family and friends of his parents that were now his as well. That he had been so warmly welcomed into this world was a gift he couldn't dream would, or could ever be topped. Still, he wanted to do something for the ones responsible for him being here today and as the three looked to the small pile of red and green wrapped packages below the tree, Sookie again saw something of a child like wonder cross the face of not only her son, but his father as well, and seeing her look at him, he tried to hide it but knew it was fruitless. One by one they took a gift from under the tree and handed it to one another and as they sat back down on the plush leather furniture, they opened their gifts without words. Which didn't last long. From Gunnar, Sookie received a new set of cookware along with a bracelet that was made from his old bronzed baby shows, something she had barely had time to have made, what with his fast growth.

"Look, I know you probably wanted to keep the shoes as they were but….well, I got to thinking, they would just be laying around and now. Well, I had something inscribed on it." Gunnar watched his teary eyes mother flip the bracelet tot the back and she read the inscription on it which read " _The blood that binds us all is stronger than which would trap us."_ and she looked at the words again, fingering the intricately linked bracelet, seeing that in between the links there were sapphires put in place. It was not too flashy or ostentatious and she saw there was even a crystal set in the center of the bracelet and she saw there was a deep red liquid in the stone that though wasn't larger than a pencil eraser, she knew the meaning of it and she sensed it wasn't only her son involved in the creation of this bauble.

"He came to me with this idea….and I thought it rather clever." Eric said as he watched their sin slip it on her right wrist, the sparkle just right for her. And it was then the Viking handed her the gift he had gotten. "I had to enlist Pam to help me in this and in honestly, I think it would be preferable if this was opened somewhere more…private. I think we have embarrassed him enough already this evening….."

Judging by the size and weight of the parcel, she had a idea that her lingerie collection had not only grown, but it was something that more than one person would enjoy and with a laugh she set the box aside. Then she produced two slender, heavy parcels from under the tree and handed them to the two towering figures before her. That this was their first Christmas together and most likely the only time in his existence the Viking had ever participated in such a thing, she had wanted the gifts to them to be meaningful and yet nothing too sappy. Something that she thought they would and would use and yet, something she hoped they wouldn't need either.

The wrapping was peeled away from the package, revealing long, wooden boxes that were clearly handmade, expertly crafted. One by one, the two lifted the hinged lids of the boxes. One by one, they removed swords from the boxes and there was a handwritten note within each of them. "Your Aunt, you fathers sister and I got to talking about the holiday, though she and those back in your fathers land don't partake in the holiday….I am rambling, sheesh. Anyway, I wanted something that was thoughtful and family oriented, something that held meaning. And this is something of your heritage. Both of yours. Though I think I may need to learn how to use those things so I don't feel left out. It is a good thing that Elsa has access and likes modern technology, it made things easier with the planning and whatever….she emailed me a couple times giving me updates on the weapons…..I told her that you had your fathers sword in your office at the bar but I thought, well, maybe a father/son gift idea, well, something from their two favorite women in their life-"

"Don't let Pam hear you say that." Gunnar interjected with a grin as he marveled at the masterwork of his weapon. "Its amazing, it really is….."

"Its good to know that there is a go to blade master to go to for future reference….even after all this time, that talent remains alive, even with those skilled back at his home are vamps too…."

"This. Is my home now." Eric reminded her as he admired his own blade, forged by his people, a few hundred who still existed as he did now. The best of both worlds, Viking and vampire, including his one thought long dead sister who now ruled the small colony as their queen. That he had a piece of his fractured human family life still in tact in a altered state, it was a gift he appreciated. As was what he was surrounded with today, especially the two in the room here with him. "Thank you…..and I do hope you like what we got you…."

She was moved by the slight awkwardness he had at the moment, that rare moment of uncertainty. "You've given me so much to be glad for and this bracelet….it is perfect to go along with this. " she waggled her ring finger, her diamond sparkling as did the plain, braided band he wore on a chain around his neck. "This may be the best Christmas I have had in a long time."

"Its my first one." the other two said in unison and it was that that made her laugh and tease them about perhaps having gotten ornaments for the tree that bore that phrase, their photos emblazoned on them. Like one would do for a baby and she doubled over laughing as she explained it to them. The rest of the evening wore on rather peacefully, with her being able to read, per her own traditions, "The Night Before Christmas" as well as succinctly explaining further the true story behind the Christmas holiday, which, she lamented that turned rather commercial.

"But I think we did well tonight, we are together, not griping about money, gifts….." said Gunnar as they shared the couch, staring at and up at the tree. And they sat for some time after that, musing about the past, pondering the future and counting their Christmas blessings

 **THE END**


End file.
